


Barnaby and His Creatures

by WhirlwindWolf94



Series: Hogwarts Mystery [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Barnaby is a sweetheart, Barnaby is best boy, Care of Magical Creatures, Female Player Character (Hogwarts Mystery), I don't know what else to tag. . ., Kneazles, Video Game: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-26 04:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18176111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhirlwindWolf94/pseuds/WhirlwindWolf94
Summary: Disaster again! Well, not really. But it is annoying that the creatures got loose again. MC, who is based off of my own and named Winter Tepes, and her classmates are tasked with rounding them up. Barnaby is like a kid in a candy store at the prospect. But his mood dramatically changes when a fellow student does something unthinkable. And Barnaby goes off.





	Barnaby and His Creatures

 

 

**A Hogwarts Mystery Fanfic**

 

 

**_Winter_ **

 

  
Oh, no, not again!

  
I had just walked into the Care of Magical Creatures paddock with Rowan, Ben, and Barnaby when we were greeted with one of the crups from class bowling Ben over to lick his face.

  
"Gah! Help! Winter, get it off me!" Ben cried, trying to cover his face with his arms.

  
"Aw, he's just saying hullo. C'mere, little guy!" Barnaby called, crouching down and smiling.

  
The crup sprang off of Ben and gladly received the bum-scritches Barnaby was offering. As Rowan helped Ben off of the ground, I looked around the paddock. Merlin's Beard. Every single creature was running amok in the paddock. Every. Single. Creature.

  
"Not again!" I groaned, slipping my glasses off and scrubbing at my eyes.

  
"This is amazing!" Barnaby said, the glee clear as crystal in his voice.

  
I replaced my glasses and tried to give him one of my deadpan looks. I say 'tried' because as soon as I saw his face, my own broke out into a grin. Barnaby looked like a third-year who had just stepped into Honeydukes for the first time. His eyes were bright, he was smiling like mad, and he was practically bouncing on the spot. By now, the rest of the class had shown up and was staring in as much shock as I had at first.

  
"Ah! There you are, Class!" Professor Kettleburn called, shaking off a pesky niffler and walking up to us, "Good news, and bad news today. Bad news; the creatures got out of their pens and we now have to round them up. Good news; none of them are outside the paddock, so it should be relatively easy!"

  
There was a collective groan from the whole class. Except Barnaby. He looked like this was the best thing ever. Which, I suppose for him, it was. The big guy, for all his brute strength and tough reputation, was just a big marshmallow when it came to creatures. And the creatures loved him. He was so gentle with every single one, especially the bowtruckles. He's said on many occasions that he's not the smartest student at Hogwarts, but he knows how to control his strength when it came to his favorite creatures.

  
"Sniffers!" Barnaby cried out, dashing into the paddock.

  
A rather small, grey-and-brown-mottled niffler _snrt_ -ed and shot through the crowd of creatures to climb up Barnaby's leg and snuggle under his chin. That was Barnaby's favorite niffler, the runt of last season's litter. He was there when the little guy first opened his eyes and they've been bonded ever since. With a chuckle (which made some of my fellow classmates jump and quicken their stride for some reason), I entered the paddock with the rest of the class to help round up the critters. The crups were the easiest, since we had gotten the pack leader a collar after last time. So, we just picked the leader up (Barnaby had named him "Skid") and put him in the proper pen. The rest followed nicely after him.

  
The murtlaps were next. They were tricky, the young ones were teething and testy. They were snapping at everyone who came near them. Barnaby managed to get a handful of them back into their pen, but the rest of us were struggling. Ben, poor thing, was chased up a tree by one of the young murtlaps. Then remembered he was afraid of heights and fell. Thankfully, he fell onto the pile of blankets we use for the Abraxens.

  
"Wonder if we have any crabs in the food bags?" Barnaby thought out loud.

  
"Bee! You're a genius!" I said, clapping him on the back.

  
"I am? First time I'm hearing about this."

  
With another chuckle (again with the jumpy classmates), I dug into the food bags in the makeshift shed in the corner. After a while, I pulled out a large bag full of fresh crabs and shrimps. Smiling, I held the bag out for Barnaby. He got the hint rather quickly and dug in for a large handful of the shellfish. Since I was allergic, I just waved the bag about for the murtlaps to catch the scent. Worked a charm. Barnaby and I got the murtlaps all penned up and fed.

  
"Brilliant work, Winter!" Barnaby said, holding his hand up for a high-five, "Oops! Sorry!" he put his hand back down.

  
"It's fine, Bee. Just wash your hands before you touch me again." I said with a giggle. He was a thoughtful one.

  
Next on the list were the fire crabs. Ismelda and Merula had already almost gotten singed trying to wrangle them. Liz called us over, flagging Rowan down as well. Turns out, she had been sneaking into the paddock out of class and training the fire crabs to follow a certain toy.

  
"Here, just shake these in front of their faces and they'll follow you like flies on a carcass!" Liz said, handing us what look like cat toys that had been modified.

  
Ignoring the comparison, Barnaby, Rowan, and I started waving the little toys around in front of the fire crabs. To our surprise, it worked. We dangled the toys over the center of the pen and they collected underneath them, just staring while Liz shut and locked the pen.

  
"Yeah! Told you I trained 'em up good!" Liz said, practically dancing with delight.

  
"Might not want to broadcast that, Liz." Rowan said, patting the girl's shoulder.

  
Barnaby and I just laughed and went over to the next group of creatures. Bouwtruckles. Okay, I'm on pretty good terms with the little things, so they were reasonably accommodating. I had both arms covered with the lanky little critters by the time Barnaby, Ben, and Rowan met me at the small grove of Wiggentrees to deposit them. Barnaby had a little trouble getting one of the younger ones to let go of him, though.

  
"Aw, Flick, y'gotta go home now. Your mum's gonna miss you." Barnaby cooed, gently stroking the little one to soothe it.

  
"I think he's jealous of Sniffers." I said, nodding toward the little niffler, still snuggled into Bee's chin.

  
"Okay, okay. I'll hold you until the end of class, alright? But you have to go home after. No but's." he said in his strict voice. Which didn't sound very strict.

  
Little Flick bounced with joy and skittered up Barnaby's arm to nestle into Sniffer's fur. I give Barnaby the most exaggerated "that's so cute!" face I could and he bumped shoulders with me. Okay, with a laugh, we headed over to the last group of creatures. The others had been rounded up by the rest of the class, leaving only the kneazles. Now, Barnaby loved all creatures on the planet, but he had an especially soft spot for kneazles. So when he happened to see one of his fellow Slytherins almost land a kick on one of the kittens, he exploded.

  
He quickly pushed Sniffers and Flick into my hands and ran full pelt at the boy. Barnaby is a solid guy, so when he rammed his shoulder into the student's side, it must have felt like a brick wall smashing into him. Not to mention when Barnaby swooped down and grabbed at the boy's collar. I rushed over with Rowan and Ben, Professor Kettleburn coming from the other side.

  
"What on Earth is going on here?!" Kettleburn shouted, somehow managing to separate the two.

  
"Barnaby, calm down! You can't help the kitten if you're angry. Calm down!" I said, gently pressing my hand flat on his chest to put myself between him and the other student, as Rowan and Ben explained to Kettleburn.

  
He took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he nodded and walked the three steps to the cowering kitten. With a sigh, I tucked Sniffers and Flick into the side of my neck and crouch down next to him. His face softens as he reaches his hand out to the little kitten. After a sniff, the little one scurried into Barnaby's lap and curled up.

  
"Sorry." Barnaby said quietly, stroking the kitten.

  
"It's okay, Bee. Everyone knows how you feel about creatures, he should have known better than to do that." I said, my hand squeezing his shoulder.

  
"They're good creatures. They shouldn't be treated like that."

  
His voice was choked, like he was trying not to cry. Barnaby doesn't cry.

  
"I know, Bee. He's just a lousy person."

  
"Had one, once."

  
"What?"

  
"A kneazle. I had one, once. Well, m'dad had one. But Y-You-Know-Who said it made him soft. So he. . . he d-drowned it. Made us watch."

  
I felt an icy chill wash over my entire body. I have a kneazle, Artemis, whom I love dearly. The thought of someone harming him in any way. . . I immediately wrapped my arm around his shoulders and gave him the best hug I could in this position.

  
"Bee. . . I'm so sorry. I can't imagine anything like that. Especially when you love animals and creatures like you do. I'm so sorry." I squeeze harder.

  
"As am I, young man."

  
We both jump, making the kitten mewl and readjust itself in Barnaby's lap. Turning around, we see Professor Kettleburn kneeling as best he could behind us. He had the most sympathetic look on his face as he reached over and clasped Barnaby's shoulder.

  
"I'm sorry, my boy. I understand your outburst now. I can't let you get off scot-free after that. Detention with me, caring for the creatures after class for two weeks. Sound okay?" he said, a twinkle in his eye.

  
"Yes, sir. Can I focus on the kneazles?" Barnaby asked, stroking the little one in his lap.

  
"Of course. That little girl is going to need some special care. She's the runt, timid, and has a unique coat. She gets picked on a lot. Do you mind taking her with you to get her confidence up?"

  
Barnaby's face lit up as he looked down at the little fur ball, purring in his lap. The little one did have an unusual coat. Most kneazles were one color with darker spots or flecks. This little angel was solid black with snow-white flecks and points.

  
"She's like Artemis." Barnaby said, his smile growing.

  
"Yeah, she is. Perfect inverse, actually." I said, the fact just now donning on me.

  
Artemis, my baby, was pure white with ink-black flecks and points. He was cast out of his litter when I adopted him because he stood out too much.

  
"How did you choose Artemis' name?" Barnaby suddenly asked, looking at me.

  
"Huh? Oh. Artemis is the Greek goddess of the hunt." I said, knowing what was coming.

  
"Goddess? Isn't Artemis a boy?"

  
"I was four!"

  
Barnaby laughed at my reaction and scooped the little kitten up to look at her. The little one sniffed at his nose and gave him a lick. That made him smile even bigger. He looks at me again.

  
"What name do you think would fit her?" he asked me, passing the kitten over.

  
I looked into the little one's big, blue eyes for a moment. She watched me for a moment, then started licking the part of my wrist she could reach. There was one name that instantly popped into my mind.

  
"Harmonia. Goddess of harmony." I said, scratching under the little one's chin.

  
"Perfect! I'll leave her with you, my boy. And I'll see you after class to equip you with everything you'll need." Kettleburn said, patting Barnaby's shoulder again before standing up and heading back toward the other student.

  
"My own kneazle. . . I can't believe it." Barnaby said, his voice choked again.

  
I look over to see him nuzzling Harmonia's head. She starts licking him again and he laughs. It was a different laugh, though. Like a parent holding their baby for the first time. With a smile, I stood up and held a hand out for Barnaby.

  
"C'mon, Bee. Let's get Flick and Sniffers back home and you can get started on your 'detention'." I said as he stood up on his own.

  
"Yeah."

  
We got the little ones back in their respective pens and I said my farewells to Barnaby and Harmonia. Dinner was in half an hour, so I decided to go to the dorm to change into more comfortable clothes. As soon as I walked in, my babies perked up and greeted me. My toad, Venus; my owl, Nightwing; my cat, Tess; my crup, Ace; and Artemis. The fur ball in question mewled and sniffed at my legs.

  
"Hey, Arty. Yeah, I was touching other creatures again. You know it's for class." I said, scratching him behind the ear.

  
He purred and settled into his basket. The others settled into their usual spots as well and promptly fell asleep. After changing, I made my rounds kissing my little ones before crouching down next to Arty. Just then, I got an idea that would make Barnaby's year.

  
"Hey, Arty. How do you feel about helping Uncle Bee take care of a kitten in need?" I asked him.

  
He looked me directly in the eyes and purred even louder. His tell-tale affirmative. I gave him a kiss on the head and headed down to dinner.

  
Boy was Barnaby going to flip!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Let me know if I made any continuity errors here! Especially with MC's shellfish allergy!


End file.
